The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the right and left thumbs, as well as his index, middle, ring, and little fingers, have been granted a 10 percent rating each. The Veteran is not entitled to higher ratings for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran had limitation of motion in all ten digits with gaps less than one inch between the thumb pads and fingers, which supports the assigned 10 percent ratings under Diagnostic Code 5228 for the thumbs and Diagnostic Codes 5229 and 5230 for the index, middle, ring, and little fingers.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the right thumb, Degenerative arthritis of the left thumb, Degenerative arthritis of the right index finger, Degenerative arthritis of the left index finger, Degenerative arthritis of the right middle finger, Degenerative arthritis of the left middle finger, Degenerative arthritis of the right ring finger, Degenerative arthritis of the left ring finger, Degenerative arthritis of the right little finger, Degenerative arthritis of the left little finger
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19177425
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,757 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19177425.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran's right hand disorder, which was denied due to lack of evidence. The claim will be remanded for this purpose.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial 20 percent disability rating for degenerative arthritis of the right thumb, effective from December 16, 2024.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for degenerative arthritis of the right thumb, effective December 16, 2024.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable rating for left thumb degenerative arthritis prior to September 6, 2023, as the Veteran's condition did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.
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